Prescott's Arena Boss. Can you use paint?

Apart from the fact that you can spin-kick the fireballs back at the giant robot, and simply avoid the thinner bomb explosions, what exactly do you need to aim at with your paint?

(I'm assuming there is a paint solution, because there's ALWAYS a paint solution, even though Gus keeps yelling about how you need to thin his armor. That can't be the only way, though I've noticed you can thin the outer face a bit, even though nothing ever comes of it.)

So, since I've demonstrated that you can run around for 15 minutes lobbing back fireballs, and make zero progress, I'd like to know what major part of this I'm missing. In a thread below, someone mentions filling up tanks with paint or thinner. Are they talking about the things that look like ears on the giant head, or what?

I couldn't manage paint, but, it is possible. Paint the wires/pipes. The paint/thinner canisters are behind the monster, but you fill the opening on the monster's bottom, near the floor, with paint or thinner. There is a gauge near the walls that indicate how much paint you have squirted into him. Near the wall is a power box for Oswald to zap. Keep doing these three things, over and over. But, the monster can refuel, and spit out thinner to destroy the wires you painted. Personally, I wanted the extra paint container upgrade, but resorted to thinner.

hmm...this makes me wonder whether there are major differences between the different platforms. I'm using a regular Wii, and there don't appear to be any wires or pipes available for filling in. Just the "stage" which you can fall off of if you run too far to the right, left, or back, a revolving spiky thing that will squish you if you get too close to the monster, and a wall of fire behind the spiky cylinder thing. Basically, you can fire at the head, or--when the mouth is open--at the cannon inside the head. Again, it is possible that I've just failed to observe something, but I don't think so. Thanks for your helpful hints though.

epilogue: We finally finished that battle ("we," because I brought in a buddy to play split-screen with me...not that I think it helped much.) What was partly perplexing me was that the IGN video walkthrough, which I had looked at for clues as to strategy, was VERY edited, and chopped out the interminable amount of time it actually took to thin the monster's helmet out...3 times. The issue was that it was taking SO long to do it that I thought I must be doing it wrong. But no, it's just tedious. As far as I can tell, there is no paint route to winning that fight, but if not, it will be the first case I can think of of an Epic Mickey battle that is winnable with thinner alone.

There are two distinct parts of "Prescott's Arena." The first part is round, where you fill up the tanks three times, as I described above. The next half of the battle is different, depending on whether you used paint or thinner on the round part. You discover you were fighting inside a giant machine, and go through its mouth to where you are on a rectangular flat land. If you used thinner on the previous area, the spikes are in a line between you and the monster, and sometimes revolve and pull you in. You can only use thinner in this scenario, thinning his face and ears. But, if you used at least 2 tanks of paint in the previous battle, the spikes are on both sides of his head, and you use paint to make the spikes close and crush the head. The floor has 6 metal plates that need to be broken open to reveal a gear that you can paint. Break the plates by hitting them with an anvil. Or, stand on a plate while the monster aims at you, then move off the plate so it hits the plate and not you. It takes many hits.

Interesting. I do not remember an area anything like the Part 1 you're describing, but perhaps I'm prematurely senile. Especially since I always try to use the paint route, even if it takes longer, so if there were an option to fill up tanks, I would have used paint. Yet I got the arena with the spinning divider and had no choice but to melt Prescott's helmet with thinner. Again wondering if there are significant differences between platforms.

edit: Yes, I'm correct, apparently. Having just watched the IGN walkthrough (parts 14 and 15,) I can see that while the areas you work your way through leading up to Prescott's arena are similar, there are some substantial differences between my game (regular Wii) and whichever platform the IGN walkthrough person is using. In the Wii version, once you work your way into Alice in Wonderland's house to reach the projector, you go straight from the 2D part into Prescott's Arena, where there is only one phase--the one where you thin his helmet 3 times. Weird.

The way you do Alice in Wonderland's house (paint or thinner), determines which projector screen you take (up on the balcony or through her bombed out house with thinner spewing out). I think the different screens end up in different areas of Prescott's Arena.

If you ruined her house and thinned her garden to get gold invincible ink, you have to continue to use thinner in the arena.

I, also, think that it is not possible to view all 16 cartoons and film reels in any saved game. The first time I was missing 2 film reels, but got all 5 DECs. This time I used paint in Ft. Wasteland, and am unable to access the last DEC and the cartoon on Alice's balcony that went to the other part of Prescott's Arena.

Have 11 film reels as of Autotopia, but you are right--I did not get through Alice's house by the paint route. I am interested in how anyone was able to jump up to the closing door without knocking off the invisible ink.

It's actually perfectly possible to access and do the Paint version of the Prescott battle. Just follow these steps:-

1. When you reach the Alice in Wonderland section of the Floatyard, disable the Beetleworx Replicator and Ursula robot to clear a safe path. Paint in things around the inkwell to turn it to invisible ink, but don't jump in yet. If you look on the right hand side of Alice's cottage, there is a grey machine. Spray Paint at it to turn it orange, then have Oswald power it up. This will cause the mushroom platforms leading up to the closing door to move up and down.

2. Climb the platforms as normal, without invisible ink yet. When you reach the top mushroom, pan the camera round until you see Gus near the door. Spray Paint at the rotating claw in front of you to produce a playing card platforrm. Now head back to the inkwell and jump in.

3. Now, slowly creep over to the first mushroom and gently jump onto it when it is at its lowest. Then lightly jump onto the vulture head platform when you are near it. Continue slowly up to the last mushroom platform with little jumps then have Oswald glide you over to the playing card platform you painted in earlier when it stops. You should now have enough ink left on you to make a mad dash to the eye door and get inside. There, you'll find an alternative Projector Screen. Hop into it and work your way through the cartoon.

4. When you arrive in Prescott's Arena, Prescott will hop into a Mickey-shaped turret. This phase is simple - Oswald will dash round to the other side and distract the machine. This will make it turn round, revealing two tanks on its back. Spray them full with Paint. Rinse and repeat until the tank is full, at which point Oswald will reprogram the machine to turn it partially friendly. Repeat the tank-filling and reprogramming twice more and the phase will be over.

5. Then there'll be a short cutscene and you'll hop out of the big Prescott head's mouth. This phase is a bit trickier - the head has three distinct attacks: orange lava balls, which you can Spin to dispose of, green thinner bombs which land and explode shortly after, and balls of junk which hover around a bit and land where you are, signified by a growing shadow on the floor to mark its target. There will be six yellow panels on the floor. When Prescott throws some junk, stand on one of these panels and move away at the last second to break it some. Each panel needs three hits to open. When they are all open, look for the three ones which contain thinned gears. Paint these in. The other three contain fuseboxes which Oswald should power up shortly after you Paint the gears in.

6. Once all three gears are painted and powered up, huge crushing walls will close in and smash the Prescott head, earning you the Paint upgrade and adding to your 'good guy' playthrough if that's what you're after.

Phew. Seems like a lot of effort just to take the Paint path. It's tricky, but possible.

Thanks! If I get over my disappointment about the game's shortness (and no multi-level blot-popping section, or anything even close to its equivalent!) I will play through again, and do it with your tips.

But now I am wondering (on a second play-through) if I've already accidentally blown the side off of the Alice in Wonderland house, is it too late to get the doors at the top of the house open and use that projector? It is too late, isn't it?

Yes, once you have used 2 fireworks bombs on the side of the house, and broken it, it is too late to use the paint method at the balcony. It is too late to do Prescott's Arena in Paint Mode.

You can prove it to yourself by going over to the far side of the turnstile and looking up at the balcony.

Ordinarily, you can see Alice's eyes inside the open balcony doors.

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With my Nintendo Wii it is a pain to save games on an SD card, and transfer them onto a computer, but it is necessary because of all the glitches, etc.

Does your console's platform have a way to save, separate from the game's unforgiving auto-save?

Even if we both had the same system, and could share saved games, this game takes up 9.34 mb in .bin form.

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SPOILER: you're not missing much.

THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE between the paint and thinner Prescott's Arena. As you know, the thinner mode has you dropping watch sketches and thinning the monster's face, and then lobbing a cannon ball back at him. Repeat. Repeat.

The Paint mode also uses a lot of watch sketches, running from cannonballs. THEN, the monster throws trash. You stand on one of six tiles until he throws, and you see the shadow of the trash coming down. You move, and it cracks the tile. I am not lucky at dropping anvils on the tiles, but sometimes it works. Half the tiles have gears to paint, and the other half have power switches for Oswald to activate.

All you get is a few seconds difference in the ending scene.

Have you gone into the EXTRAS menu to see the ending scene of your other games? Just imagine the castle and monster not breaking a building.

When I fail to sneak up to the balcony around 7 times, the first mushroom and the bird-head croquet mallet get out of sync. I watch and watch, but they never get back in sync enough that Mickey can make the jump without losing too much ink.

So, I take the turnstile down and back up. It means that I may have to drop a watch sketch and TV and anvil and kill the monster again. But, at least the mushroom and bird are doable.

It is easier for me to activate Oswald, move him out of the way, and then just lay his controller down. Otherwise, he is there when I get out of the ink, or jumps on me, or stands in the way. Playing Mickey with half a screen is better than dealing with Oswald.

I wanted to add an addition to the paint boss fight with Prescott. If you thin out the recharge turrets you won't get the thinner balls. Makes it easier to get close especially if you only have first level clock like I did